Has there been a more infuriating scene to watch on The Good Wife than a calm Mike Kresteva (Matthew Perry) rewriting his meeting with Alicia and insisting, to her face, that everything coming out of his mouth about her having invited him to her office and asking him to change the panel report for Peter’s sake was not a lie? The way he was able to see, without looking away from Alicia, that an associate had entered his office (“One second, Ginger, I’ll be right out”) showed just how easy it is for this man to keep his story straight. Those few silent seconds Alicia took to walk toward him before informing him ”You’re gonna lose” were delicious. But he took back control when he told her to stop “pretending” he was lying. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him (which means I finally see him as someone other than Chandler Bing, well done). But Alicia managed to walk away… straight back to Eli’s office to tell him she’d think about helping Peter if he were to run against Kresteva for Illinois governor.

Though Kresteva told Peter that Alicia would regret him entering the race, it’s on. The episode ended with Peter announcing his candidacy with Alicia by his side. (Read our full episode recap here.) If you’d asked me at the start of the series (or even this season) whether I’d be happy seeing Alicia holding raised hands with Peter again, I would have said “[Expletive] no.” Even now, Peter’s power makes me nervous. I know Jackie wasn’t listening to him when he was telling her not to buy his family’s old house, but the force behind his voice when he finally got through to her was chilling. It’s tough to watch anyone be made to feel that small, even someone as manipulative as Jackie “I forgive you” Florrick. But that’s what I love about this show: They never let you forget, for long, that people with power use it.

How are you feeling about Alicia’s decision? Let’s watch the clip below, then take it to a vote.